1. Field of Invention
This present invention relates to a multi-pillow construction to be utilized during sleeping and/or reclining and provides head and neck support for the hemi side sleeper.
2. Related Art
There are three basic reclining positions, namely, prone, supine, and hemi side. In the hemi side position a person rests upon one of his/her upper arms and a single temple and facial cheek are downward. It is well known that the hemi side position is better than prone or supine for certain maladies. For example, the hemi side position is known to reduce snoring during sleep, to enhance the drainage of nasal and sinus fluids accompanying infections and congestion, and to facilitate breathing thereby reducing the likelihood of sleep apnea. It should be noted that the hemi side position is known to produce these benefits as long as the pillow itself does not block the nasal passages or otherwise inhibit breathing. Even in the absence of a medical condition, persons with nasal openings free from external obstructions during sleep will generally be benefited.
Pillow like devices for supporting the head and neck of hemi side reclining persons are taught in the related art including, inter alia, U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,029 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,862. However, these related art structures do not reliably support the user in a truly hemi side position while assuring that that is no obstruction to the user's nasal openings due to the pillow device itself. Also, the related art does not offer the advantages of two distinct pillows formed into multi-pillow construction as the present invention does.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,029 provides a head and neck supportive device for hemi side reclining persons but the device is a single pillow with plural segments, preferably in the form of three hingedly connected independent segments. This segmented construction with triangular-shaped end segments was designed for geriatric patients to use for cradling purposes. The major disadvantage of this design is it utilizes single pillow construction which does not provide the advantages of the present invention as explained below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,862 provides a multitiered pillow construction which consists of pillow compartments which supply the different tiers. Although compartmentalized, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,862 patent also has the limitations and disadvantages of single pillow construction.